Display device and method of fabricating the same

ABSTRACT

A display device, includes: a display panel including a display region defined therein; and an input sensing layer disposed on the display panel, including: a first sensing electrode including a first sub-electrode and a second sub-electrode disposed on the first sub-electrode; a second sensing electrode spaced apart from the first sensing electrode in a first direction, including a third sub-electrode and a fourth sub-electrode disposed on the third sub-electrode; a first sensing wire electrically connected to the first sensing electrode; and a second sensing wire electrically connected to the second sensing electrode, wherein a width of the first sub-electrode in a second direction intersecting with the first direction is greater than a width of the third sub-electrode in the second direction, and wherein a width of the second sub-electrode in the second direction is smaller than a width of the fourth sub-electrode in the second direction.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation Application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/375,812, filed on Apr. 4, 2019, which is aContinuation Application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/909,994,filed on Mar. 1, 2018, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,275,106, andclaims priority from and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.10-2017-0078739, filed on Jun. 21, 2017, which are hereby incorporatedby reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND Field

Exemplary embodiments relate to a display device and a method offabricating the same, and in particular to a display device includingtouch electrodes, and a method of fabricating the same.

Discussion of the Background

A touch screen panel is an input device, allowing for a user to selectelements displayed on a screen and to input a user command using a handor an object.

The touch screen panel is often provided on a front face of an imagedisplay device and is configured to sense a touch event provided from ahand or an object and to generate an electrical signal containingposition information of the touch event. An electrical signal or contentgenerated by the touch event is used as an input signal in the imagedisplay device.

The touch screen panel is used to replace an additional input device(e.g., a keyboard and a mouse), which is connected to the image displaydevice. Thus, the application range of the touch screen panel isgradually expanding.

There are a variety of technologies to realize such a touch screenpanel. For example, a method of using a resistive layer, an opticalsensing method, and a capacitance sensing method are being used torealize such touch screen panels. In particular, for the capacitancesensing method, the touch screen panel is configured to measure a changein electrostatic capacitance between a conductive sensing pattern andanother sensing pattern (or a ground electrode), which may occur when ahand or an object is in contact with the touch screen panel, and toconvert the measured result to an electrical signal containinginformation on a contact position.

The above information disclosed in this Background section is only forenhancement of understanding of the background of the inventiveconcepts, and, therefore, it may contain information that does not formthe prior art that is already known in this country to a person ofordinary skill in the art.

SUMMARY

Exemplary embodiments of the inventive concepts provide a display deviceincluding touch electrodes having increased consistency in electrostaticcapacitance, and a method of fabricating the same.

Additional aspects will be set forth in the detailed description whichfollows, and, in part, will be apparent from the disclosure, or may belearned by practice of the inventive concepts.

According to exemplary embodiments, a display device may include asubstrate including a display region and a non-display region outsidethe display region, a circuit layer provided on the substrate, a devicelayer provided on the display region, an encapsulation layer provided tocover the device layer, and a touch layer provided on the encapsulationlayer. The touch layer may include touch patterns, an insulating layer,and touch electrodes provided on the touch patterns. The touchelectrodes may be electrically connected to the touch patterns,respectively, through contact holes formed in the insulating layer.Touch patterns may include first sub-patterns extending in a firstdirection and second sub-patterns extending from the first sub-patternsin a second direction crossing the first direction. When viewed in aplan view, areas of the touch electrodes may gradually decrease in thefirst direction, and areas of the second sub-patterns may graduallyincrease in the first direction.

Each of the touch electrodes may be a transparent electrode. Each of thetouch electrodes may include at least one of indium tin oxide (ITO),indium zinc oxide (IZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), and/or indium tin zinc oxide(ITZO).

The display device may further include dummy electrodes provided on theinsulating layer, the dummy electrodes being disposed spaced apart fromthe touch electrodes.

The dummy electrodes may include the same material as the touchelectrodes.

The display device may further include dummy electrodes provided betweentwo adjacent touch electrodes of the touch electrodes.

The dummy electrodes may be provided on the same layer as that of thetouch electrodes.

The touch electrodes may be configured to be capacitively coupled withan external object.

The device layer may include pixels, the pixels being configured todisplay an image, and the second sub-patterns may be spaced apart fromthe pixels and may include a mesh-shaped portion provided between thepixels.

The display device may further include a touch driving part configuredto generate touch driving signals for driving the touch patterns. Thefirst sub-patterns may be configured to transmit the touch drivingsignals to the second sub-patterns from the touch driving part.

According to some embodiments, a method of fabricating a display devicemay include providing a substrate including a display region and aperipheral region outside the display region, disposing a circuit layeron the substrate, disposing a device layer on the display region,disposing an encapsulation layer to cover the device layer, anddisposing a touch layer on the encapsulation layer. The disposing of thetouch layer may include disposing touch patterns, disposing aninsulating layer to cover the touch patterns, forming contact holes inthe insulating layer to expose at least a portion of the touch patterns,and disposing touch electrodes on the touch patterns. Here, the touchelectrodes may be respectively connected to the touch patterns throughthe contact holes. The disposing of the touch electrodes may include:disposing first sub-patterns extending in a first direction anddisposing second sub-patterns extending from the first sub-patterns in asecond direction crossing the first direction. When viewed in a planview, areas of the touch electrodes may gradually decrease in the firstdirection, and areas of the second sub-patterns may gradually increasein the first direction.

Each of the touch electrodes may be a transparent electrode.

Each of the touch electrodes may include at least one of indium tinoxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), and/or indiumtin zinc oxide (ITZO).

The method may further include forming dummy electrodes on theinsulating layer, the dummy electrodes are disposed spaced apart fromthe touch electrodes.

The dummy electrodes may include the same material as the touchelectrodes.

The method may further include forming dummy electrodes between twoadjacent touch electrodes of the touch electrodes.

The dummy electrodes may be formed on the same layer as that of thetouch electrodes.

The touch electrodes may be formed to be capacitively coupled with anexternal object.

The device layer may include pixels, the pixels being configured todisplay an image, and the disposing of the second sub-patterns mayinclude forming the second sub-patterns between the pixels to be spacedapart from the pixels.

According to some embodiments, a display device may include a substrateincluding a display region and a non-display region outside the displayregion, a circuit layer provided on the substrate, a device layerprovided on the display region, an encapsulation layer provided to coverthe device layer, and a touch layer provided on the encapsulation layer.The touch layer may include touch patterns and touch electrodes providedon the touch patterns, the touch electrodes respectively connected tothe touch patterns.

The foregoing general description and the following detailed descriptionare exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide furtherexplanation of the claimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the inventive concepts, and are incorporated in andconstitute a part of this specification, illustrate exemplaryembodiments of the inventive concepts, and, together with thedescription, serve to explain principles of the inventive concepts.

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a display device according to anexemplary embodiment.

FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the display device of FIG. 1A,illustrating a user's finger is in contact with the display device,according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating a portion of the display deviceof FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a display panel according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 4 is an equivalent circuit diagram of a pixel according to anexemplary embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view illustrating a portion of a pixel accordingto an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating a touch layer according to anexemplary embodiment.

FIG. 7A is an enlarged section view taken along a first sectional lineA-A′ of FIG. 6.

FIG. 7B is an enlarged section view taken along a second sectional lineB-B′ of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a plan view illustrating a detailed structure of the touchlayer of FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a plan view illustrating a detailed structure of a touch layeraccording to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating a method of fabricating a displaydevice, according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating a process of forming a touch layeraccording to an exemplary embodiment.

It should be noted that these figures are intended to illustrate thegeneral characteristics of methods, structure and/or materials utilizedin certain example embodiments and to supplement the written descriptionprovided below. These drawings are not, however, to scale and may notprecisely reflect the precise structural or performance characteristicsof any given embodiment, and should not be interpreted as defining orlimiting the range of values or properties encompassed by exampleembodiments. For example, the relative thicknesses and positioning ofmolecules, layers, regions and/or structural elements may be reduced orexaggerated for clarity. The use of similar or identical referencenumbers in the various drawings is intended to indicate the presence ofa similar or identical element or feature.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of various exemplary embodiments. It is apparent, however,that various exemplary embodiments may be practiced without thesespecific details or with one or more equivalent arrangements. In otherinstances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagramform in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring various exemplaryembodiments.

In the accompanying figures, the size and relative sizes of layers,films, panels, regions, etc., may be exaggerated for clarity anddescriptive purposes. Also, like reference numerals denote likeelements.

When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “connected to,”or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on,connected to, or coupled to the other element or layer or interveningelements or layers may be present. When, however, an element or layer isreferred to as being “directly on,” “directly connected to,” or“directly coupled to” another element or layer, there are no interveningelements or layers present. For the purposes of this disclosure, “atleast one of X, Y, and Z” and “at least one selected from the groupconsisting of X, Y, and Z” may be construed as X only, Y only, Z only,or any combination of two or more of X, Y, and Z, such as, for instance,XYZ, XYY, YZ, and ZZ. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Asused herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of oneor more of the associated listed items.

Although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describevarious elements, components, regions, layers, and/or sections, theseelements, components, regions, layers, and/or sections should not belimited by these terms. These terms are used to distinguish one element,component, region, layer, and/or section from another element,component, region, layer, and/or section. Thus, a first element,component, region, layer, and/or section discussed below could be termeda second element, component, region, layer, and/or section withoutdeparting from the teachings of the present disclosure.

Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,”“upper,” and the like, may be used herein for descriptive purposes, and,thereby, to describe one element or feature's relationship to anotherelement(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the drawings. Spatiallyrelative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of anapparatus in use, operation, and/or manufacture in addition to theorientation depicted in the drawings. For example, if the apparatus inthe drawings is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath”other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the otherelements or features. Thus, the exemplary term “below” can encompassboth an orientation of above and below. Furthermore, the apparatus maybe otherwise oriented (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at otherorientations), and, as such, the spatially relative descriptors usedherein interpreted accordingly.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, thesingular forms, “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the pluralforms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Moreover,the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including,”when used in this specification, specify the presence of statedfeatures, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/orgroups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one ormore other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof

Various exemplary embodiments are described herein with reference tosectional illustrations that are schematic illustrations of idealizedexemplary embodiments and/or intermediate structures. As such,variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result, forexample, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to beexpected. Thus, exemplary embodiments disclosed herein should not beconstrued as limited to the particular illustrated shapes of regions,but are to include deviations in shapes that result from, for instance,manufacturing. As such, the regions illustrated in the drawings areschematic in nature and their shapes are not necessarily intended toillustrate the actual shape of a region of a device and are not intendedto be limiting.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure is a part. Terms,such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should beinterpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning inthe context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in anidealized or overly formal sense, unless expressly so defined herein.

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a display device DD according to anexemplary embodiment. FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the displaydevice DD of FIG. 1A, illustrating a user's finger FG in contact withthe display device, according to the exemplary embodiment.

The display device DD may include a display surface IS on which an imageIM is disposed, and the display surface may be defined to be parallel toboth of a first direction axis DR1 and a second direction axis DR2.Hereinafter, a third direction axis DR3 will be used to refer to anormal direction of the display surface IS (i.e., a thickness directionof the display device DD). A front or a front face (or a top surface)and a rear face (or bottom surface) of each member may be distinguished,based on the third direction axis DR3. However, directions indicated bythe first, second, and third direction axes DR1, DR2, and DR3 may berelative concepts, and in certain exemplary embodiments, they may bechanged to indicate other directions. Hereinafter, first, second, andthird directions may be directions indicated by the first, second, andthird direction axes DR1, DR2, and DR3, respectively, and will beidentified with the same reference numbers.

The display device DD may be used for large-sized electronic devices(e.g., television sets and monitors) or small-sized or medium-sizedelectronic devices (e.g., smart phones, tablets, car navigation systems,game machines, and smart watches). For the sake of simplicity, thefollowing description will refer to an exemplary embodiment of thedisplay device DD which is a smart phone.

Referring to FIG. 1A, the display surface IS may include a displayregion DD-DA, which is used to display the image IM, and a non-displayregion DD-NDA, which is provided adjacent to the display region DD-DA.The non-display region DD-NDA may be configured not to display anyimage. As shown FIGS. 1A and 1B, application icons may be displayed asparts of the image IM. In exemplary embodiments, the display regionDD-DA may have a rectangular shape. The non-display region DD-NDA maysurround the display region DD-DA. However, the exemplary embodimentsare not limited thereto, and the shapes of the display and non-displayregions DD-DA and DD-NDA may be variously changed in the substantiallysimilar manner.

Referring to FIG. 1B, the display device DD may be configured to detecta touch event caused by the finger FG. In exemplary embodiments, aregion, at which the touch event can be detected, may be substantiallythe same as the display region DD-DA. In other words, in the case wherethe finger FG is in contact with the display region DD-DA, it may bepossible to recognize the touch event, which is caused by the finger FG,using the display device DD.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating a portion of the display deviceDD of FIG. 1.

The display device DD may include a window WM and a display module DM.The window WM and the display module DM may be attached to each other bya first adhesive layer ADH1.

The display module DM may include a touch layer FPS, a display panel DP,and an anti-reflection structure POL. The touch layer FPS and thedisplay panel DP may be attached to each other by a second adhesivelayer ADH2.

Each of the first adhesive layer ADH1 and the second adhesive layer ADH2may include an optically clear adhesive (OCA) film, an optically clearresin (OCR), and/or a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) film. Inexemplary embodiments, each of the first adhesive layer ADH1 and thesecond adhesive layer ADH2 may include a photo-curable adhesive materialand/or a heat-curable adhesive material, but the exemplary embodimentsare not limited to the specific material thereof.

The window WM may be configured to protect the display module DM from anexternal impact and provide a touch sensing surface to a user. Thedisplay surface IS shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B may be used as the touchsensing surface. In addition, the display surface IS may be used as afingerprint-recognizing surface for recognizing a user's fingerprint.

The window WM may include glass. But the exemplary embodiments are notlimited thereto, and for example, in certain embodiments, the window WMmay include at least one of optically transparent materials.

The display panel DP may include a plurality of light-emitting devices.If image data is input to the display device DD, the display panel DPmay display the image IM (e.g., see FIG. 1A) based on the image data. Aprocess of fabricating the display panel DP may include a lowtemperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) and/or low temperaturepolycrystalline oxide (LTPO) process.

The touch layer FPS may be provided on the display panel DP. The touchlayer FPS may be configured to obtain coordinate information on aposition of an external input, e.g. a touch event by an external object.In exemplary embodiments, the touch layer FPS may be independentlyfabricated by an additional process and may be attached to the displaypanel DP. But the exemplary embodiments are not limited thereto, and incertain embodiments, the touch layer FPS may be directly provided on asurface of the display panel DP. In other words, the touch layer FPS andthe display panel DP may be fabricated through a successive process.Here, the touch layer FPS may be coupled to the display panel DP withoutusing the second adhesive layer ADH2.

The touch layer FPS may include a plurality of touch electrodes, whichare used to detect whether there is a touch event caused by an externalobject. The external object may be the finger FG shown in FIG. 1B. Thefinger FG may be capacitively coupled with the touch layer FPS, therebycausing a change in electrostatic capacitance of the touch layer FPS.

The anti-reflection structure POL may be provided between the displaypanel DP and the touch layer FPS. The anti-reflection structure POL maybe configured to absorb light incident from the outside or to reduceoptical reflectance of the light through destructive interference orpolarization of the light.

In exemplary embodiments, the anti-reflection structure POL may includea color filter, a stack of conductive layer/dielectric layer/conductivelayer, a polarizer, and/or an optical component.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the display panel DP according to an exemplaryembodiment. FIG. 4 is an equivalent circuit diagram of a pixel PXaccording to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 3, the display panel DP may include a display regionDA and a non-display region NDA, when viewed in a plan view. The displayregion DA and the non-display region NDA of the display panel DP maycorrespond to the display region DD-DA and the non-display regionDD-NDA, respectively, of the display device DD illustrated in FIG. 1A.

In certain embodiments, the display and non-display regions DA and NDAof the display panel DP may not be the same as the display andnon-display regions DD-DA and DD-NDA of the display device DD and may bechanged according to the structure or design of the display panel DP.

The display panel DP may include a plurality of signal lines SGL and aplurality of pixels PX. A region, on which the plurality of pixels PXare provided, may be defined as the display region DA. In the presentembodiment, the non-display region NDA may be defined along an edge orcircumference of the display region DA surrounding the display regionDA.

The plurality of signal lines SGL may include gate lines GL, data linesDL, a power line PL, and a control signal line CSL. Each of the gatelines GL may be electrically connected to corresponding ones of theplurality of pixels PX, and each of the data lines DL may beelectrically connected to corresponding ones of the plurality of pixelsPX. The power line PL may be electrically connected to the plurality ofpixels PX. A gate driving circuit DCV, to which the gate lines GL areelectrically connected, may be provided at a side region of thenon-display region NDA. The control signal line CSL may be used toprovide control signals to the gate driving circuit DCV.

Some of the gate lines GL, the data lines DL, the power line PL, and thecontrol signal line CSL may be provided at the same layer, and at leastone of them may be provided at a different layer from that of theothers. Among the gate lines GL, the data lines DL, the power line PL,and the control signal line CSL, signal lines provided at a first layermay be defined as a first signal line, and signal lines provided at asecond layer may be defined as a second signal line. Furthermore, signallines provided at a third layer may be defined as a third signal line.

Each of the gate lines GL, the data lines DL, the power line PL, and thecontrol signal line CSL may include a signal line portion and a displaypanel pad PD-DP electrically connected to an distal end of the signalline portion. The signal line portion may be defined as the portion ofthe gate lines GL, the data lines DL, the power line PL, and the controlsignal line CSL, except for the display panel pad PD-DP thereof.

The display panel pads PD-DP may be formed in the same process as thatfor forming the transistors for driving the pixels. For example, theprocess of fabricating the display panel pads PD-DP may include the LTPSand/or LTPO process.

In exemplary embodiments, the display panel pads PD-DP may include acontrol pad CSL-P, a data pad DL-P, and a power pad PL-P. Although agate pad is not illustrated, it may be provided to be overlapped withthe gate driving circuit DCV and to provide a signal path to the gatedriving circuit DCV. Although not indicated by a separate referencenumber, a portion of the non-display region NDA, in which the controlpad CSL-P, the data pad DL-P, and the power pad PL-P are arranged, maybe referred to as a pad region.

FIG. 4 exemplarily illustrates one of the pixels PX that is electricallyconnected to one of the gate lines GL, one of the data lines DL, and thepower line PL. However, the exemplary embodiments are not limitedthereto, and the structure of the pixel PX may be variously changed.

The pixel PX may include a light-emitting device LM, which may serve asa display element. The light-emitting device LM may be a top-emissiontype diode or a bottom-emission type diode. In certain embodiments, thelight-emitting device LM may be a double-sided emission type diode. Thelight-emitting device LM may be an organic light emitting diode (OLED).The pixel PX may include a switching transistor TFT-S and a drivingtransistor TFT-D, which are used to control operations of thelight-emitting device LM, and a capacitor CP. The light-emitting deviceLM may generate light in response to electrical signals transmitted fromthe transistors TFT-S and TFT-D.

The switching transistor TFT-S may be configured to output a data signalapplied to the data line DL, in response to a scan signal applied to thegate line GL. The capacitor CP may be charged to a voltage levelcorresponding to the data signal transmitted through the switchingtransistor TFT-S.

The driving transistor TFT-D may be electrically connected to thelight-emitting device LM. The driving transistor TFT-D may control adriving current passing through the light-emitting device LM, based onan amount of electric charges stored in the capacitor CP. Thelight-emitting device LM may emit light, when the driving transistorTFT-D is in a turned-on state.

The power line PL may be used to supply a first power voltage VDD1 tothe light-emitting device LM.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view illustrating a portion of the pixel PXaccording to an exemplary embodiment. FIG. 5 is a sectional view of aregion, in which the driving TFT-D and the light-emitting device LMshown in FIG. 4 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 5, a circuit layer CL may be provided on a substrateSUB. The substrate SUB may include the display region DA and thenon-display region NDA as previously described with reference to FIG.1A. However, for convenience in illustration, only the display region DAof the substrate SUB is illustrated in FIG. 5. The driving transistorTFT-D may include a semiconductor pattern ALD that is provided on thesubstrate SUB. The semiconductor pattern ALD may include at least one ofamorphous silicon, poly silicon, and/or metal oxide semiconductormaterials.

The circuit layer CL may include organic/inorganic layers BR, BF, 12,14, and 16, in addition to the switching transistor TFT-S and thedriving transistor TFT-D as described with reference to FIG. 4. Theorganic/inorganic layers BR, BF, 12, 14, and 16 may include functionallayers BR and BF, a first insulating layer 12, a second insulating layer14, and a third insulating layer 16.

The functional layers BR and BF may be provided on a surface of thesubstrate SUB. The functional layers BR and BF may include at least oneof a barrier layer BR and/or a buffer layer BF. The semiconductorpattern ALD may be placed on the barrier layer BR and/or on the bufferlayer BF.

The first insulating layer 12 may be provided on the substrate SUB tocover the semiconductor pattern ALD. The first insulating layer 12 mayinclude an organic layer and/or an inorganic layer. In certainembodiments, the first insulating layer 12 may include a plurality ofinorganic thin-films. The plurality of inorganic thin-films may includea silicon nitride layer and a silicon oxide layer.

The driving transistor TFT-D may include a control electrode GED that isprovided on the first insulating layer 12. Although not shown, theswitching transistor TFT-S may also include a control electrode that isprovided on the first insulating layer 12. The control electrode GED andthe gate line GL (e.g., see FIG. 4) may be formed using the samephotolithography process. In other words, the control electrode GED maybe formed of the same material as the gate lines GL, and the controlelectrode GED and the gate lines GL may have the same stacking structureand may be provided at the same level.

The second insulating layer 14 may be provided on the first insulatinglayer 12 to cover the control electrode GED. The second insulating layer14 may include an organic layer and/or an inorganic layer. In certainembodiments, the second insulating layer 14 may include a plurality ofinorganic thin-films. The plurality of inorganic thin-films may includea silicon nitride layer and a silicon oxide layer.

The data line DL (e.g., see FIG. 4) may be provided on the secondinsulating layer 14. The driving transistor TFT-D may include an inputelectrode SED and an output electrode DED that are provided on thesecond insulating layer 14. Although not shown, the switching transistorTFT-S may also include an input electrode and an output electrode thatare provided on the second insulating layer 14. The input electrode ofthe switching transistor TFT-S (e.g., see FIG. 4) may be a portion thatis branched off from a corresponding one of the data lines DL. The powerline PL (e.g., see FIG. 4) may be provided on the second insulatinglayer 14. The input electrode SED of the driving transistor TFT-D may bebranched off from the power line PL.

A portion of an electrode of the capacitor CP (e.g., see FIG. 4) may beprovided on the second insulating layer 14. The portion of the electrodeof the capacitor CP may be formed using the same photolithographyprocess as that for the data lines DL and the power line PL. In thiscase, the portion of the electrode of the capacitor CP, the data linesDL, and the power line PL may be formed of the same material and at thesame level and may have the same stacking structure.

The input electrode SED and the output electrode DED may be electricallyconnected to respective portions of the semiconductor pattern ALDthrough a first through hole CH1 and a second through hole CH2, whichare formed to penetrate both of the first insulating layer 12 and thesecond insulating layer 14 to expose at least a part of the respectiveportions of the semiconductor pattern ALD. In certain embodiments, theswitching transistor TFT-S and the driving transistor TFT-D may beconfigured to have a bottom gate structure.

The third insulating layer 16 may be provided on the second insulatinglayer 14 to cover the input electrode SED and the output electrode DED.The third insulating layer 16 may include an organic layer and/or aninorganic layer. In particular, the third insulating layer 16 maycomprise an organic material to provide a flat top surface.

According to a circuit structure of the pixel, it may be possible toomit one of the first insulating layer 12, the second insulating layer14, and the third insulating layer 16. Each of the first insulatinglayer 12, the second insulating layer 14 and the third insulating layer16 may be defined as an interlayered insulating layer. The interlayeredinsulating layer may be provided between vertically-separated conductivepatterns and may be used to electrically disconnect the conductivepatterns from each other.

A device layer ELL may be provided on the third insulating layer 16. Thedevice layer ELL may include a pixel definition layer PXL and thelight-emitting device LM. An anode AE may be provided on the thirdinsulating layer 16. The anode AE may be electrically connected to theoutput electrode DED of the driving transistor TFT-D through a thirdthrough hole CH3, which is formed to penetrate the third insulatinglayer 16 to expose at least a part of the output electrode DED of thedriving transistor TFT-D. An opening OP may be defined in the pixeldefinition layer PXL. The opening OP of the pixel definition layer PXLmay expose a at least a part of the anode AE.

The device layer ELL may include a light-emitting region PXA and anon-light-emitting region NPXA adjacent to the light-emitting regionPXA. The non-light-emitting region NPXA may be provided to surround thelight-emitting region PXA. In the present embodiment, the light-emittingregion PXA may be defined to correspond to the anode AE. However, thestructure or position of the light-emitting region PXA is not limitedthereto. For example, the light-emitting region PXA may be defined as aregion, from which light is emitted. In certain embodiments, thelight-emitting region PXA may be defined to correspond to the portion ofthe anode AE exposed by the opening OP.

A hole control layer HCL may be provided in common on the light-emittingregion PXA and the non-light-emitting region NPXA. Although not shown, acommon layer, such as the hole control layer HCL, may be commonlyprovided in a plurality of the pixels PX (e.g., see FIG. 3).

A light emitting layer EML may be provided on the hole control layerHCL. The light emitting layer EML may be locally provided on only aregion corresponding to the opening OP. In other words, the lightemitting layer EML may be divided into a plurality of patterns that areformed in the plurality of pixels PX, respectively.

The light emitting layer EML may include an organic material and/or aninorganic material.

An electron control layer ECL may be provided on the light emittinglayer EML. A cathode CE may be provided on the electron control layerECL. The cathode CE may be commonly placed on the plurality of pixelsPX.

In the present embodiment, the light emitting layer EML is illustratedto have a patterned structure; however, in certain embodiments, thelight emitting layer EML may be provided as a common layer to spanacross the plurality of pixels PX. In this case, the light emittinglayer EML may be configured to emit a white-color light. In certainembodiments, the light emitting layer EML may be provided to have amulti-layered structure.

In the present embodiment, an encapsulation layer TFE may be provided todirectly cover the cathode CE. In certain embodiments, a capping layermay be further provided between the cathode CE and the encapsulationlayer TFE to cover the cathode CE. In this case, the encapsulation layerTFE may be provided to directly cover the capping layer. Theencapsulation layer TFE may include at least one of organic layers andinorganic layers.

FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating the touch layer FPS according to anexemplary embodiment. FIG. 7A is an enlarged section view taken along afirst sectional line A-A′ of FIG. 6. FIG. 7B is an enlarged section viewtaken along a second sectional line B-B′ of FIG. 6. FIG. 8 is a planview illustrating a detailed structure of the touch layer FPS of FIG. 6.

Referring to FIGS. 6, 7A, 7B, and 8, the touch layer FPS may include abase substrate 601, a plurality of touch patterns TL, an insulatinglayer 602, a plurality of touch electrodes 605, and a planarizationlayer 606.

The base substrate 601 may include an inorganic material. The basesubstrate 601 may be provided in the form of a thin plate. The exemplaryembodiments are not limited to a material of the base substrate 601. Inexemplary embodiments, the base substrate 601 may include at least oneof silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, and/or silicon oxide. The basesubstrate 601 may be an encapsulation layer constituting the displaypanel DP of FIG. 5 or an additional substrate attached to the displaypanel DP.

The touch pattern TL may be placed on the base substrate 601. The touchpattern TL may include a metallic material. For example, the touchpattern TL may include at least one of low resistivity metals includingcopper (Cu), aluminum (Al), molybdenum (Mo), titanium (Ti), silver (Ag),gold (Au), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), iron (Fe), indium (In), andgallium (Ga).

Touch patterns TL may include second sub-patterns 603 and firstsub-patterns 604. One touch pattern may include one first sub patternand one second sub pattern. When viewed in a plan view, each of thefirst sub-patterns 604 may extend in the first direction DR1 and may bea linear shape. In exemplary embodiments, the first sub-patterns 604 maybe arranged in the second direction DR2.

The second sub-patterns 603 may extend from the first sub-patterns 604,when viewed in a plan view. In more detail, when viewed in a plan view,the second sub-pattern 603 may extend from the first sub-patterns 604 ina direction crossing the first direction DR1. For example, the secondsub-patterns 603 may extend from the first sub-patterns 604 in thesecond direction DR2. In exemplary embodiments, the second direction DR2may be perpendicular to the first direction DR1. The second sub-patterns603 and the first sub-patterns 604 may be connected to form a singlebody. Although not illustrated in the drawings, the display device DD(e.g., see FIG. 1A) may further include a touch driving part (notshown), which is configured to generate touch driving signals fordriving the touch patterns TL, respectively. The first sub-patterns 604may be used to transmit the touch driving signal to the secondsub-patterns 603 from the touch driving part.

Referring to FIG. 8, the touch pattern TL may be overlapped with thenon-light-emitting region NPXA. When viewed in a plan view, as shown inFIG. 8, the first sub-patterns 604 may include linear patterns that arearranged along the non-light-emitting region NPXA and are connected toeach other. In detail, the first sub-patterns 604 may include diagonalpatterns, which are connected to each other to form a specific angle,and may extend in the first direction DR1.

The second sub-patterns 603 may have a mesh shape enclosing some of thelight-emitting regions PXA and may extend from the first sub-patterns604 in the second direction DR2. In detail, the second sub-patterns 603may have a diamond shape enclosing some of the light-emitting regionsPXA and may extend from the first sub-patterns 604.

The touch pattern TL may be provided to have a line width of severalmicrometers.

The light-emitting regions PXA may have two or more sizes. For example,among the light-emitting regions PXA, the light-emitting regions PXA,which are configured to emit blue and red lights, respectively, may havedifferent sizes from each other. Accordingly, openings TOP formed by thesecond sub-patterns 603 may also have various sizes. FIG. 8 illustratesan example, in which the light-emitting regions PXA having various sizesare provided, but the exemplary embodiments are not limited thereto. Forexample, in certain embodiments, the light-emitting regions PXA may beformed to have the same size. The openings TOP formed by the secondsub-patterns 603 may also have the same size.

Referring to FIGS. 6, 7A, and 7B, the insulating layer 602 may beprovided on the touch pattern TL. The insulating layer 602 may includean inorganic insulating material or an organic insulating material. Indetail, the inorganic insulating material may include at least one ofaluminum oxide, titanium oxide, silicon oxide, silicon nitride, siliconoxynitride, zirconium oxide, and/or hafnium oxide. The organicinsulating material may include at least one of acrylic resins,methacryl resins, polyisoprene resins, vinyl resins, epoxy resins,urethane resins, cellulose resins, siloxane resins, polyimide resins,polyamide resins, and/or perylene resins. In exemplary embodiments, theinsulating layer 602 may be provided to have a multi-layered structureincluding at least two different materials.

The plurality of touch electrodes 605 may be placed on the insulatinglayer 602. Each of the touch electrodes 605 may be a transparentelectrode. In exemplary embodiments, each of the touch electrodes 605may include at least one of indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide(IZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), and/or indium tin zinc oxide (ITZO). Inexemplary embodiments, the touch electrodes 605 may have a thickness of300□ or less.

A plurality of contact holes CTH may be formed in the insulating layer602. Each of the contact holes CTH may be formed to penetrate theinsulating layer 602 and expose at least a part of a corresponding oneof the touch patterns TL. Each of the touch electrodes 605 may beelectrically connected to the touch pattern TL through the contact holesCTH. In detail, each of the contact holes CTH may be used toelectrically connect a corresponding one of the touch electrodes 605 tothe second sub-patterns 603 and the first sub-patterns 604. The touchelectrodes 605 may be capacitively coupled with an external object(e.g., the finger FG shown in FIG. 1B), and in this case, theelectrostatic capacitance of the touch electrodes 605 may be changed. Bymeasuring the change in the electrostatic capacitance through the touchelectrodes 605, it may be possible to sense an input caused by theexternal object.

As described above, in a self-capacitance based touch sensing method,the touch electrodes 605 may be electrically connected to the secondsub-patterns 603 having a mesh shape through the contact holes CTH, andthus, it may be possible to increase an area, through which a touchevent from an external object can be sensed. Furthermore, in this case,since the electrostatic capacitance between the touch electrodes 605 andthe external object is increased, it may be possible to improve touchsensitivity of a display device.

Referring to FIG. 6, a planar area of the second sub-patterns 603 maygradually increase in the first direction DR1. This may be because anoccupation area of the first sub-patterns 604 increases in a directionopposite to the first direction DR1.

On the other hand, a planar area of each of the touch electrodes 605 maygradually decrease in the first direction DR1. In exemplary embodiments,an area of the touch electrode of FIG. 7A may be smaller than an area ofthe touch electrode of FIG. 7B. Thus, when viewed in a plan view, on thesecond sub-patterns 603 having a relatively large area, the touchelectrode 605 may be provided to have a small area and to be overlappedwith the second sub-patterns 603 having the large area, whereas on thesecond sub-patterns 603 having a relatively small area, the touchelectrode 605 may be provided to have a large area and be overlappedwith the second sub-patterns 603 having a small area. This arrangementof the touch electrode 605 may reduce a positional variation of theelectrostatic capacitance in the first direction DR1, and thereby mayincrease the consistency of the touch sensitivity of a display device,regardless of a position of a touch event.

The planarization layer 606 may be placed on the touch electrodes 605.The planarization layer 606 may include an organic material and may beformed to have a flat top surface. In exemplary embodiments, theplanarization layer 606 may include an organic material (e.g.,polyimide).

However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited to theabove-described structure of the touch pattern TL and the touchelectrodes 605, and in certain embodiments, although not illustrated inthe drawings, the second sub-patterns 603 may not be connected to thetouch electrode 605 through the contact hole CTH, and the touchelectrode 605 may be formed to be in direct contact with the secondsub-patterns 603. In this case, the insulating layer 602 may be omitted.

In certain embodiments, the second sub-patterns 603 may be provided onthe touch electrodes 605, respectively. In this case, the secondsub-patterns 603 may be in contact with the top surface of the touchelectrode 605 and may be electrically connected to the touch electrode605.

FIG. 9 is a plan view illustrating a detailed structure of a touch layerFPS' according to an exemplary embodiment.

In the following description of FIG. 9, a previously described elementmay be identified by a similar or identical reference number withoutrepeating an overlapping description thereof, for the sake of brevity.

The touch layer FPS' of FIG. 9 may further include a plurality of dummyelectrodes 901, compared with the touch layer FPS described withreference to FIG. 8.

The dummy electrodes 901 may be provided between two adjacent touchelectrodes of the touch electrodes 605. The dummy electrodes 901 may beprovided on the insulating layer 602 (e.g., see FIG. 7A) to be spacedapart from the touch electrodes 605. The dummy electrodes 901 may beprovided on the same layer as that of the touch electrodes 605. In moredetail, the dummy electrodes 901 may be provided on a region of theinsulating layer 602 that is not overlapped with the touch electrodes605. The dummy electrodes 901 may include the same material as the touchelectrodes 605. In exemplary embodiments, the dummy electrodes 901 mayinclude at least one of indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO),zinc oxide (ZnO), and/or indium tin zinc oxide (ITZO).

The dummy electrodes 901 may be electrically disconnected from the touchpattern TL (e.g., see FIG. 7A), unlike the touch electrodes 605. Thus,the dummy electrodes 901 may not receive the touch driving signal from atouch driving part.

Since the dummy electrodes 901 formed of the same material as the touchelectrodes 605 are provided to be spaced apart from or not overlappedwith the touch electrodes 605, it may reduce variations in transmittanceof an external light, which may be caused by the touch electrodes 605.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating a method of fabricating the displaydevice DD (e.g., of FIG. 1A), according to an exemplary embodiment. FIG.11 is a flow chart illustrating a process of forming the touch layer FPS(e.g., of FIG. 7A), according to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 10, the substrate SUB may be provided (S11),and the circuit layer CL may be formed or disposed on the substrate SUB(S12). The circuit layer CL may be formed or disposed to have the samefeatures as those described with reference to FIG. 5. The device layerELL may be formed or disposed on the circuit layer CL (S13). Asdescribed above, the device layer ELL may include the light-emittingregion PXA and the non-light-emitting region NPXA adjacent thereto. Thedevice layer ELL may be formed or disposed to have the same features asthose described with reference to.

The encapsulation layer TFE may be formed or disposed on the devicelayer ELL (S14). The encapsulation layer TFE may be formed or disposedto have the same features as those described with reference to FIG. 5.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 10, after the formation of the encapsulationlayer TFE, the touch layer FPS may be formed or disposed on theencapsulation layer TFE (S15).

Hereinafter, a process of forming the touch layer FPS will be describedin more detail with reference to FIG. 11, but for concise description, apreviously described element may be identified by a similar or identicalreference number without repeating an overlapping description thereof.

Referring to FIGS. 6, 7A, and 11, the touch pattern TL may be formed ordisposed on the base substrate 601 (S151). The formation of the touchpattern TL may include forming or disposing a metal layer on the basesubstrate 601 and patterning the metal layer using a photolithographyprocess. The metal layer may include at least one of metallic materialsincluding low resistivity metals, such as copper (Cu), aluminum (Al),molybdenum (Mo), titanium (Ti), silver (Ag), gold (Au), nickel (Ni),chromium (Cr), iron (Fe), indium (In), and gallium (Ga). The firstsub-patterns 604 and the second sub-patterns 603 may be formed ordisposed at the same time through a single process.

After the formation of the touch pattern TL, the insulating layer 602may be formed or disposed to cover the touch pattern TL (S152). Theinsulating layer 602 may include an inorganic insulating material.

After the formation of the insulating layer 602, the contact hole CTHmay be formed or disposed in the insulating layer 602 (S153). Thecontact hole CTH may be formed by a patterning process including aphotolithography process.

The touch electrodes 605 described above may be formed or disposed onthe insulating layer 602 (S154). The formation of the touch electrodes605 may include forming or disposing a layer, which is formed of orincludes at least one of indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide(IZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), and/or indium tin zinc oxide (ITZO), on theinsulating layer 602, and then patterning the layer using aphotolithography process. In more detail, the formation of the touchelectrodes 605 may include forming or disposing an amorphous ITO layeror an amorphous IZO layer on the insulating layer 602 and patterning theamorphous ITO or IZO layer using a photolithography process. Inexemplary embodiments, the touch electrodes 605 may include amorphousIZO.

As a result of the patterning process, the touch electrodes 605 may beelectrically connected to the touch pattern TL through the contact holeCTH.

The planarization layer 606 may be formed or disposed on the touchelectrodes 605, and thus, the touch layer FPS may be formed.

In a self-capacitance based touch sensing method, touch electrodes maybe electrically connected to second sub-patterns having a mesh shapethrough contact holes, and thus, it may be possible to increase an areaof a region that can be used to sense a touch event from an externalobject. Furthermore, in this case, since the electrostatic capacitancebetween the touch electrodes and the external object is increased, itmay be possible to improve touch sensitivity of a display device.

In addition, when viewed in a plan view, on the second sub-patternshaving a relatively large area, the touch electrode may be provided tohave a small area and to be overlapped with the second sub-patternshaving the large area, and on the second sub-patterns having arelatively small area, the touch electrode may be provided to have alarge area and to be overlapped with the second sub-patterns having thesmall area. This arrangement of the touch electrode may reduce apositional variation of the electrostatic capacitance in a direction,and thereby may increase the consistency of the touch sensitivity of adisplay device, regardless of a position of a touch event.

Although certain exemplary embodiments and implementations have beendescribed herein, other embodiments and modifications will be apparentfrom this description. Accordingly, the inventive concepts are notlimited to such embodiments, but rather to the broader scope of thepresented claims and various obvious modifications and equivalentarrangements.

What is claimed is:
 1. A display device, comprising: a display panelincluding a display region defined therein; and an input sensing layerdisposed on the display panel, the input sensing layer comprising: afirst sensing electrode comprising a first sub-electrode and a secondsub-electrode disposed on the first sub-electrode; a second sensingelectrode spaced apart from the first sensing electrode in a firstdirection, the second sensing electrode comprising a third sub-electrodeand a fourth sub-electrode disposed on the third sub-electrode; a firstsensing wire electrically connected to the first sensing electrode; anda second sensing wire electrically connected to the second sensingelectrode, wherein a width of the first sub-electrode in a seconddirection intersecting with the first direction is greater than a widthof the third sub-electrode in the second direction, and wherein a widthof the second sub-electrode in the second direction is smaller than awidth of the fourth sub-electrode in the second direction.
 2. Thedisplay device of claim 1, an area of a region where the firstsub-electrode is disposed is greater than an area of a region where thesecond sub-electrode is disposed in a plan view.
 3. The display deviceof claim 1, an area of a region where the third sub-electrode isdisposed is smaller than an area of a region where the fourthsub-electrode is disposed in a plan view.
 4. The display device of claim1, wherein the fourth sub-electrode overlaps with at least a portion ofthe first sensing wire in a plan view.
 5. The display device of claim 1,wherein a length of the first sensing wire in the first direction islonger than a length of the second sensing wire in the first direction.6. The display device of claim 1, at least a portion of the firstsensing wire and at least a portion of the second sensing wire overlapwith the display region in a plan view.
 7. The display device of claim1, wherein the first sub-electrode and the third sub-electrode aredirectly disposed on the display panel.
 8. The display device of claim1, wherein the first sub-electrode and the third sub-electrode have amesh shape.
 9. The display device of claim 1, wherein the display panelcomprises a substrate, a circuit layer disposed on the substrate, adevice layer disposed on the circuit layer, and an encapsulation layerdisposed on the device layer, and wherein the first sub-electrode andthe third sub-electrode are directly disposed on the encapsulationlayer.
 10. The display device of claim 1, wherein the first sensingelectrode and the second sensing electrode are disposed on the displayregion.
 11. The display device of claim 1, wherein the secondsub-electrode and the fourth sub-electrode are transparent electrodes.12. The display device of claim 1, wherein an area of a region where thefirst sub-electrode is disposed is greater than an area of a regionwhere the third sub-electrode is disposed in a plan view, and wherein anarea of a region where the second sub-electrode is disposed is smallerthan an area of a region where the fourth sub-electrode is disposed inthe plan view.